Into the Darkness
by brookyss36
Summary: Scully's on vacation and Mulder get's stuck with a no brainer case. At least that's what he thinks. When things take a turn for the worse, will Scully be able to get to Mulder in time? Or will he become just another X-File to investigate? Whump!Mulder, Muldertorture, now complete.
1. Into the Woods

He never imagined that his life would end like this. He had devoted his life to the unknown, the paranormal, the unexplained, and he had always thought that his death would be related to those things in some way. He never once imagined that it would be for reasons so, _human;_ reasons that weren't based on conspiracies and lies.

 _Instead,_ he thought to himself, _my death will be the result of a run of the mill case gone bad. A_ normal _case that should have been in and out. Something that doesn't even have anything to do with the X-Files._

He would have laughed if it didn't hurt so much.

He was in the middle of a forest in some no name town in Oregon, tied to a tree, both arms stretched as far back behind him and around the tree as possible. He could feel warm blood slowly oozing down his face; the inability to wipe it off was driving him crazy.

Fire danced in his vision as he focused on the scene in front of him. A large fire, about 20 feet away, was burning bright and he could hear excited voices and chattering from the 15 or so people sitting around it. Small children were running, screaming and laughing around the fire; their joy was evident. Just beyond the fire was a small village of broken down houses and huts. It was like he had stepped back in time. And he almost wished that was the case; at least then he'd be dying for an X-File, something strange and unexplainable.

Unfortunately, that couldn't be further from the truth.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as his mind raced back in time to the moments that brought him here.

* * *

"Listen, Scully. It's an in and out case." Mulder explained. "Just some people who haven't paid their taxes in a while that's all. I can handle this one alone."

"Mulder, I appreciate that you are trying to get on Kersh's good side, but this case is just ridiculous. Sending you on a tax evasion fraud case? It's absurd!"

She sat on the corner of his desk and her body language exuded annoyance.

Mulder smiled to himself. It always made him happy to see Scully get her feather's ruffled for some reason, especially if it was on his account.

"I know, I know," He chuckled, "but like I said, it's in and out and if it gets Kersh off my back for a while, so be it."

Scully sighed. "Fine, but at least let me see if I can come a long. I mean, it's all the way in Oregon. If something were to happen..."

Mulder shook his head and stood up, grabbing his coat off his chair. "I'll see you in a couple weeks Scully, enjoy your vacation."

He gave her his signature smirk that always drove her crazy and headed for the door.

"Mulder."

He stopped in the door frame and glanced back at Scully. Her countenance now anxious and her gaze serious.

"Just be careful, okay?"

Mulder chuckled, "Don't worry Scully, tax evaders aren't known to be that dangerous."

He yelled as he walked out of the office, "I'll call you when I get to Oregon!"

Scully couldn't help but laugh, but she felt a pit in the bottom of her stomach. As she watched him leave, his confidence was on full display and it should have given her comfort, but she just couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong with this case. She took a deep breath and looked at her watch. She had plans to go visit her brother Bill and sister-in-law during her vacation time, but something told her she should go somewhere closer to Mulder.

She shook her head. _Pull yourself together, Scully. Mulder will be fine. In a couple of weeks I'll be back from vacation and we'll both be back to our normal routine._

She grabbed her coat and her keys and headed for the door, still trying to convince herself that everything was going to be fine.

It wasn't working.

* * *

Mulder had a smooth flight to Portland and from there he rented a car and drove 4 hours to a small town in the middle of nowhere in Oregon. The town had one motel, one gas station, and one restaurant.

He pulled up to the gas station and went inside to pay for his gas. He was met by a friendly faced older woman. The store was tiny and almost empty, except for scattered chips and snacks.

"Hello!" The woman exclaimed. "What can I get you, dear?"

Mulder returned her smile. "Uh, I just need to get $20 in gas." He extended his hand toward her, holding a crisp $20 bill.

"Oh, I am sorry, but we don't serve gasoline anymore, dear." Her smile didn't waver.

"Wait," Mulder's smile dropped, "are you serious? How am I supposed to get out of here? The closest town is an hour and a half away and I'm almost out of gas."

The old lady's smile was starting to get creepy now. "I understand your frustration, but there's really nothing I can do. The pump's have been out for years."

Mulder stood there, dumbfounded. How was this even possible? _I guess I could call Scully and tell her to come out here, with extra gas._

He snapped out of his thoughts and was startled to see the elderly lady still staring at him intently, with the same creepy smile on her face.

"Look, I'm in...town on official F.B.I. business," He flashed her his badge and he noticed her smile falter for just a split second, "and I'm looking for Mr. and Mrs. Ackers. Do you know where I can find them?"

He stuffed his badge back in his coat pocket as she responded, "F.B.I.? They aren't in any kind of trouble, are they?"

"I'm not really in any position to say, ma'am."

She nodded slowly, smile still glued to her face, "They are about 20 miles outside of town. Just keep going straight on the main road until you see the giant oak tree and turn left. That'll take you right there."

"Thank you." Mulder nodded and walked back to his car. He thought he'd have enough gas to get there and back. He hopped in, turned the key, and...nothing. He tried again, but the engine didn't even turn over. Out of instinct he glanced back into the store and noticed the old woman was no longer there. The sun was started to dip beyond the horizon, and he din't feel good about being stuck here at night.

He got out of his car and slowly pulled his gun from his pocket, walking back into the store. Something was definitely off here.

He walked through the tiny store, weaving between the shelves, but he couldn't find the old lady. He noticed two doors, one to the wall on his left and one to his right, the exit was now behind him. He cursed to himself, _why didn't I do this earlier._ He pulled his cell from his pocket and quickly dialed Scully, glancing around the store for any danger. He held the phone to his ear, gun still held firm in his other hand.

"C'mon, Scully, c'mon." He glanced around nervously as the phone continued to ring, the goosebumps on the back of his neck were now fully risen. _You've reached the number of Dana Scully. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible._ "Dammit, Scully." He heard his phone beep. "Scully, it's me. Look, I made to that town in Oregon. Something weird is going on here. I don't know what, but I can just feel it. There was this creepy old lady here, and now my car won't start and she's nowhere to be found. I think you should come here right away, Scully, there's just something..."

He was cut off short as he felt a sharp pain explode in the back of skull. His phone clattered to the floor and he fell to his knees, bringing his gun up in the direction of his attacker. It seemed like he was suddenly shrouded in darkness because he couldn't see anything. _Must be from the hit._ Someone behind him pinned his arms to his sides and he wheezed as a kick connected to his abdomen and a fist connected to his jaw.

There were two attackers and Mulder had a sneaking suspicion that neither one was the old lady.

The strong hands that held him heaved him up with ease and Mulder stood on his feet, shaky. He could barely make out the figure in front of him but could tell it was a man about his height, but much more muscled up than him.

"What are the damn F.B.I. doing around these parts?" The man barked at Mulder.

"Wha...I'm just here investigating a tax evasion. It's nothing serious." He tried to sound as innocent and hopeful as he could, but, as he looked into the man's crazed eyes, he felt like his chances of getting away were pretty slim. There was more than a tax evasion going on here.

The man's eyes narrowed as he stepped closer to Mulder, his face almost inches away from his. "We don't much care for the feds or any strangers as a matter of fact in these parts, do we Jed?"

Mulder was assuming the man that was holding him was Jed and he must of nodded, because the man in front of him continued. "No, sir, not one bit. One of your kind shot my brother down in Portland. Said he robbed a store and pulled a gun on the feds when they tried to catch him. But I don't believe it, not a single word. My brother was murdered by your people, and now one of you has come stumbling into our little town. What a coincidence."

The man smiled a sickening smile that made Mulder's heart drop.

"Listen," Mulder couldn't hide the panic in his voice, "whoever shot your brother wasn't one of my _people._ I can assure you that I had no knowledge of that incident. We aren't all like that, I promise."

The man laughed a deep, crazy laugh that made Mulder's hair rise on end. He didn't see the man pull out something from his pocket until he thrust it into his chest.

Mulder's breath caught in his throat and it felt like his body was on fire as the electrical shock of the taser coursed through his body. He let out an involuntary scream as the taser was jammed into his body once again and he dropped to the floor. Again and again it came at him and again and again he screamed. It felt like it went on forever until it abruptly stopped. He laid there, panting, barely maintaining consciousness as he looked up into the faces of his attackers. They looked to be brothers, but the one who tased him was definitely in charge based on his countenance. They both loomed over Mulder and the man reach down and grabbed Mulder roughly by the shirt, pulling his torso off of the ground. Mulder made a weak attempt to punch him, but he could barely even lift his arm from off the floor.

He flashed Mulder a wicked smile. "We're going to have ourselves some fun with you."

Mulder fought to hold onto consciousness but, as he saw the taser moving in, he knew it was no good. He watched it make contact with his chest and he convulsed and screamed in pain. The man continued to press it into Mulder's chest as he writhed in agony, his demented smile growing larger. Remembering that his phone was still recording his voicemail to Scully, Mulder managed to find enough strength to yell out, "Scully, help!" just as the darkness pushed at the edges of his vision and he finally fell into unconsciousness.


	2. Into the Frying Pan

Thank you everyone for the favorites, follows, and reviews! Seeing that definitely keeps me motivated to keep writing. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Files or any of it's characters.

* * *

The flight from Washington to Annapolis was a smooth one, but Scully was having a difficult time enjoying it. She looked out the window onto the wing of the plane. In the air she felt so helpless. Anything could be happening to Mulder and she wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. Not to mention, her cell phone battery had died 5 minutes into her flight, so she felt extra helpless.

 _Pull yourself together, Scully._ She thought to herself as she nestled into her seat. _Just relax and enjoy your time off._

Bill was there to greet Scully when she got off of the plane; seeing him again almost made her forget about Mulder. Almost.

"Hey sis! How was your flight?" Scully couldn't help but feel uplifted seeing his big smile.

She returned his smile as he grabbed her luggage and they headed out the airport doors.

"It was good, nothing too exciting. I did have to sit next to some guy that snored the whole way, but what are you going to do."

Bill chuckled as he opened his car trunk and loaded Scully's luggage in.

"Well Tara has a big dinner waiting for us and mom flew in earlier today; we've been really looking forward to your visit."

Scully and Bill both climbed into the car and Scully met his gaze.

"Me too. I think this break has been a long time coming."

* * *

Scully thoroughly enjoyed dinner with Bill and Tara and seeing her mother again was great. As they laughed and joked at the dinner table, she forgot about all of her worries and fears and found herself focusing on the present.

"So Dana," Her mom's bright eyes always had a way of making Scully feel warm inside, "how is work? How is Fox doing?"

The mention of his name sent a jolt through Scully, but she shook it off.

"Work's good. Kersh has us doing the most menial cases, but that's okay, we'll get back to doing what we do best soon I'm sure. And Mulder is doing fine. He's actually on a case in Oregon right now."

"Oh," her mom's face fell, "he wasn't able to take vacation time too?"

This question made Scully laugh. "Mulder doesn't take vacations. That is, unless the F.B.I. makes him."

Bill looked irritated but Scully's mom laughed. The conversation quickly passed onto other things and before Scully knew it she was so tired she was drifting to sleep at the dinner table.

"Well all, I think it's time for me to hit the sack. Good night everyone."

Scully got up from the table and, after exchanging "good nights" with everyone, she headed to her room. She closed the door behind her and spotted her cell phone charging on her bedside table. That familiar jolt was sent through her again. She quickly walked to her phone and turned it on. An alert popped up, one missed call and voicemail from Mulder.

She took a deep breath as she clicked play on the voicemail. Another jolt as she heard Mulder's voice: _"Scully, it's me. Look, I made to that town in Oregon. Something weird is going on here. I don't know what, but I can just feel it. There was this creepy old lady here, and now my car won't start and she's nowhere to be found. I think you should come here right away, Scully, there's just something..."_ Suddenly Scully heard a muffled grunt and what sounded like a clattering of the phone on the ground. A brief period of silence then two more thuds and a muffled wheeze. There was a longer period of silence, then she could hear someone talking, a man's voice but not Mulder's. She could only make out pieces of what he was saying. But it was enough to know he wasn't friendly. Then she heard Mulder's voice, he sounded scared but she couldn't make out everything he was saying either. Next there was a laugh, a grunt, then a thud. What Scully heard next was like a nightmare coming true. Mulder's screams came through her phone over and over again. She held the phone away from her ear in shock, but she could still hear him through the speakers. It went on and on until there was a sudden silence. She pushed the phone back up to her ear as she heard another murmur of speech and then another terrible scream from Mulder, except this one seemed to go on forever, until she heard Mulder yell out, _"Scully, help!"_ Then, silence. She kept listening, but all she could hear was more muttering and then silence. She figured the phone must of slid somewhere out of sight and had remained unnoticed, but she kept listening until an abrupt voice spoke through the speaker, " _Hello? Hello? Uh, if anyone's listening just know, that if any police come snooping around here, the fed we have is dead meat. Got it?"_ And with that, her phone beeped and was silent.

Scully slowly pulled the phone away from her ear and sat on the edge of her bed in shock.

 _Why did I let him go alone. I had a feeling something bad was going to happen but I shook it off._

She buried her face in her hands and tried to keep the tears from escaping. She had to remain calm if she was going to find Mulder. Obviously she couldn't call this in. If she did, they'd send a task force and the kidnappers would kill Mulder the instant they saw them. She had to go alone. That was the only way. She knew the name of the town he went to and she had a gun. That's all she really needed. She hopped up from her bed, feeling a steely resolve come over her, and quickly shoved her things back into her suitcase.

A knock on her door made her jump and she saw Bill's head peeking from the door.

"Hey, I just wanted to say goodnight and I'm looking forward to spending some time together." He opened the door fully and stood in the frame. "I feel like things between us have been a little strained lately and I'm just looking forward to us getting to know each other again."

Scully instantly burst into tears. "Oh, Bill." She rushed forward into his arms. "Bill, I just got this voicemail from Mulder's phone. The case he went on, well something went wrong. I...I can't explain it. Here, just listen."

So they both sat on the edge of her bed, listening to the message from Mulder's phone. Scully thought it might have been even worse the second time. She looked expectantly at Bill once the message was over, but he seemed emotionless.

"Bill...I have to go get him."

He looked sharply at Scully. "You can't do that, are you crazy? Whoever did this to Mulder sounds crazy, and they'll probably do the same thing to you if you go. Just call the police and let them handle it, Dana."

Before he even finished his sentence Scully was shaking her head in indignation. "You know I can't do that. You heard what that man said, if the police come to get Mulder, they'll kill him."

Bill was on his feet now. "And what do you think they're going to do if you go alone? They'll kill you both, that's what."

Scully started to say something in protest but Bill cut her off. "Look Dana, I know you like this guy and he's your partner and all, but just because he got himself in this mess doesn't mean you have to go galavanting across the country and risk your neck to save his life. You have backup, you work for the F.B.I. for goodness sake!"

"Look, Bill," now Scully was standing, "I don't have time for this! I will not do anything that will further jeopardize Mulder's life and if me going alone is his best shot at surviving, then so be it. I'm not a child anymore. I know what I'm doing."

Scully grabbed her suitcase and stormed out of the room, through the living room, grabbing Bill's car keys from the table on her way, and to the front door. She could hear Bill following her the whole way and she had her hand on the doorknob when she heard her mom behind her as well.

"Bill, Dana, what's going on?"

Bill just stood there huffing, unsure of what to say. Dana turned to face her mom, trying her best to remain calm. Who knew what they were doing to Mulder right now.

"Mom, I have to go." A look of confusion and concern crossed her mom's face. "The case Mulder was on turned out to be trouble. He's been kidnapped and I have reason to believe that he his kidnappers mean to harm him, or worse."

Her mom's hand flew to her open mouth in shock. "Oh my god. Did you call the police?"

Scully fervently shook her head, trying to remain patient. "I can't explain it all mom, I just need you all to trust me with this, okay? I can handle it and I'll call you as soon as I can."

She opened the door and walked out, turning around after a couple of steps, looking into the confused face of her mother and angry face of her brother.

"I love you both."

And with that, she drove to the airport and caught the quickest flight to Portland.

* * *

When Mulder opened his eyes, the first thing he thought was, _what did I get myself into last night?_

Then the memories started flooding back to him.

He tried sitting up but, to his dismay, found that he couldn't. He looked up and down and found that he his arms were chained to the headboard of a bed and his legs to the bottom. He suddenly felt a wave of pain and nausea flood over him as the realization of what had happened hit him full force. He closed his eyes and started taking deep calm breaths as he felt his heart rate picking up.

 _Everything's going to be fine. Scully has to have gotten my message by now. There should be someone here to get me out of here at anytime._

He jumped when he heard a familiar voice from the corner of the room, which, he realized, looked like a room straight out of a western movie. It was definitely an old fashioned house that he was in.

"Oh good, I'm glad you're awake, dear."

 _Oh, great. This creepy lady again. And still with the smile._

Mulder tried his best to pull at his restraints and she walked up to his bed.

She sat on the edge of bed, seemingly unaware that Mulder was trying to stay away from her like the plague.

"Oh dear, you've been through quite an ordeal haven't you?" She ran a hand over his wounds from the taser on his bare chest and Mulder felt his skin crawl.

"Get you're hands off me." He said through clenched teeth.

Finally, her smile fell as she dug her finger into one of the wounds.

He groaned as she continued to push, refusing to give her the satisfaction of screaming.

She finally lifted her hand and resumed her smile, wiping her hand on her pants. "Hmm, no doubt you know why your here by now. I'm sure my boys told you."

Mulder just glared at the old woman and she took his silence as her cue to continue. "One of my other sons was shot and killed by a fed like you. We never found out who it was that did it, but now that your here it doesn't really matter. You can take his place and receive the punishment that fits his crime."

She stood up from the bed and turned to look at Mulder, her gaze now serious and her smile long gone. "I really do wish it didn't have to be this way, you seem like a nice young man. But, everyone agrees this is for the best."

Mulder couldn't bite his tongue any longer. "Best for who? You people think it was wrong for an agent to do his job, but it's right for you to kill an innocent man? I'm sorry to break it to you, lady, but your son deserved what he got. He was a criminal!"

Mulder felt a sharp sting across his face as the old woman slapped him, hard. Her hand was then around his throat and her now angry face right up to his.

"Your'e right. We are going to kill you. But it's not going to be quick. It's going to be slow. That much you've earned yourself."

She shoved his head back into the mattress and stormed out of the room, slamming the door as she left.

"This is crazy..." Mulder muttered to himself. He groaned as he struggled to get out of his bonds with no avail. He tried his best to relax as he resigned to the fact that he was not going to escape from his current situation.

"C'mon, Scully, please hurry."


	3. Into the Heart of the Swarm

When Scully touched down in Portland, she didn't think her anxiety could get any worse. Normally, she was a composed person, but right now Mulder's life was in danger and she felt out of control; that tended change things.

She put the coordinates of the town Mulder was in in her rental cars GPS and took off in that direction, not fully sure if she was ready for what she might find. But she tried not to think of that.

The 4 hour drive there was pure torture. She tried playing music to distract take her mind off of things, but it didn't seem to do the trick. Her stomach did a flip when she saw a road mark saying the town was only 3 more miles ahead. The sun was just peaking above the horizon; she had flown and driven through the night.

Like Mulder, the first thing she noticed as she pulled into the town was that it wasn't much of a town as it only had one gas station, restaurant, and hotel. It was definitely not a tourist destination.

She pulled into the gas station, remembering Mulder's voicemail, and knowing that that was where he was when he was taken. She also knew that she couldn't present herself as an F.B.I. agent, so she made sure to dress in casual civilian attire and to present herself as a tourist who was just touring the great state of Oregon.

As she pulled into the gas station, she felt a spasm of anxiety as she saw an old woman through the window of the gas station store. _That has to be the old woman that Mulder was talking about._ Cautiously, Scully got out of her car and walked into the store, trying to act as normal and touristy as possible.

The old woman smiled at Scully when she saw her walk in. _Mulder was right, this lady does seem creepy._

"Hello, dear!" The old woman exclaimed. "What can I do for you?"

"Hi," Scully returned with a friendly smile, "I was just driving through and I was wondering if I could get a fill up of gas?"

"Oh sure, honey, how much would you like?"

"Um, 20 dollars should be fine." She held out a 20 dollar bill.

The old lady took her money and put it in the till. "You know, it's funny."

Scully instantly felt nervous, but maintained her cool exterior. "Oh?"

"Our town is so small, we never see anyone come through these parts. But all of a sudden we get two visitors in two days! Seems like an awfully weird coincidence."

Scully didn't know how, but she thought the woman's smile had turned extra creepy and sinister.

"Oh, well, that is a coincidence. I don't know about your other visitor, but I'm just doing a tour of Oregon. I've always heard such great things, so I decided to road trip across the state."

"That's nice, dear. I don't think this other fellow was planning on doing that. But I didn't ask him too many questions. Your pump is ready dear."

The old woman smiled and gestured towards Scully's car.

"Thank you. I think I might buy a snack or two for the way home too."

The woman laughed and gestured toward their bare shelves, "We don't have much, I hope you find something you like."

Scully weaved in between the small aisles but she couldn't see any signs that a struggle took place. Once she was convinced there was no evidence to be found, she grabbed a couple candy bars and set them on the counter.

The old woman took Scully's money for the snacks, and Scully decided to take this as another opportunity to get some answers out of the old woman.

"Just out of curiosity, how many residents do you have in this town?" She hoped that she sounded genuinely interested.

"Oh, not many." The woman bought it. "There's only 15 of us, 20 including children. We all live about 10 miles outside of town. You just take the main road straight and turn right and it takes you right there. It's a quiet little town we live in, not too exciting for someone like yourself I'm sure."

Scully smiled. "Hmm, yes, well it sounds lovely all the same. Thank you."

She headed out the door, pumped her gas, and set off to find Mulder.

* * *

As soon as the old woman saw Scully drive away, she picked up the phone and dialed in a flurry of numbers. Jud? I think there's another one snooping around here. _Another fed?_ Yes, another fed you idiot. _Do you want me to take care of them?_ No, it's okay. I sent her in the wrong direction. _Her? Yes. S_ he seems like a nice girl, so there's no need to harm her. _Whatever you say, Ma._ _Ma, you think we should get rid of the other fed now?_ No, we proceed with everything as planned. This girl can't get in our way now. And Jud? Don't get too carried away with him. We wouldn't want to cut the fun short would we? _Okay, ma._ Jud? Gather everyone in the meeting place. I'll see you soon.

* * *

Mulder spent his first night since being kidnapped chained to a bed and, as appealing as that would normally sound to him, he was starting to get a little tired of it. For one, he kept losing feeling in his hands and feet, and he had to constantly change positions to keep his muscles from aching too bad. Also, the wounds from the taser hurt like hell and nothing he could do seemed to alleviate the pain. Needless to say, he didn't sleep at all that night. He was startled to see sunlight streaming through the lone window in his bedroom; it was morning. A part of him felt disappointed that he hadn't been rescued yet. He knew Scully had to have gotten his message. However, another more realistic side of him knew that Scully would take every precaution while trying to rescue him and he knew that would probably take time.

 _I just have to make it a little bit longer._

A creak pulled Mulder's attention toward the bedroom door. He was surprisingly relieved as he saw the oldest son, Jud, come through the door and not his crazy old witch mother, whose name he hadn't discovered yet.

"Hey, good morning, Jud!" He said his name with an over the top redneck accent. "You come to wake me up for breakfast?"

Mulder knew this kind of talk was drawing unnecessary attention to himself, but he couldn't help himself. Plus, he felt like it was a way for him to cope.

Apparently Jud didn't feel the same way. Mulder felt a wave of panic as Jud stomped over to Mulder but, to his surprise, he unchained his hands and feet. Only to roughly toss him onto his stomach and handcuff his hands behind his back.

 _I knew there had to be a catch._ Mulder thought grimly to himself.

Jud grabbed Mulder by the hair and yanked him to his feet so they were face to face. Mulder didn't make a sound, even though it wasn't the most pleasant thing he'd experienced; he decided to not give Jud the satisfaction. It wasn't until he stood face to face with Jud, that Mulder realized he was dressed only in his boxers. For some reason, this realization made Mulder feel queasy, his lack of clothing made him feel dehumanized and vulnerable. He was sure that was completely intentional on his kidnappers part.

Jud pulled a gun from his waistband and waved it toward the door. "Let's go."

Mulder obliged. "Where are we goin', Uncle Jud?" He said in his redneck voice. He felt a burst of pain as Jud slammed the butt of his gun into Mulder's right side, on his ribs, as hard as he could. A groan escaped from Mulder's lips as he collapsed to the floor on his knees and he leaned on the door frame, breathing hard. He was beginning to hate this guy more than the old woman.

Jud grabbed Mulder by the hair and yanked him to his feet.

 _Again, with the hair._ Mulder painfully thought to himself.

"Keep moving." Jud pushed the gun against Mulder's back.

They walked through a hall, a small kitchen, then out a back door into the cool Oregon air. As they stepped outside, Mulder instantly felt goosebumps all over his skin.

As they walked, he noticed they were in a village of some sort. There were about 10 houses all aligned in a large circle with a giant firepit and benches in the center. They walked past that to a large barn-like building which was right outside of the village and, when they walked in, Mulder was surprised to see about 15 people waiting inside, all sitting in a large half circle; a single chair sat in the center. Mulder was roughly guided to the chair and was shoved down into it. He felt his handcuffs being undone and then re-applied around the chair so he couldn't run. He watched as Jud took an empty seat and he felt his hair stand on end as a hush fell over the building. All eyes were on him and none of them looked friendly.

Suddenly, the barn doors opened and the old woman walked through and stood directly in front of Mulder, all eyes were on her now.

Mulder glanced nervously around, his panic level was quickly rising.

The old woman cleared her throat and spoke. "People. You know why we are gathered here today. 5 years ago, my youngest son, Jim, was shot and killed by a federal agent of our government. He did not deserve what happened to him, and I know that we all have had a gaping hole in our hearts since that day. A gaping hole that could only be filled by justice. Now, we never found the name of the man who killed Jim, but, a strange coincidence has come upon us. Another federal agent has come into our presence. Here to serve in the place of Jim's killer. Here to suffer the punishments for the killer's crime. It has been 5 long years of suffering for us. 5 long years of waiting for justice. I know that you would all like to see this man die as punishment for Jim's crime, but I have a better idea, if you all agree to it. I propose that this man work for us for 5 years to make up for the 5 years we have been without Jim, and then he may suffer the ultimate consequence for Jim's death: his own death."

At her final words, the people in the barn cheered in agreement and she turned to face Mulder, her signature smile on display again.

It finally occurred to Mulder that he had a voice to speak up with.

He tried to cut off the cheering, "Wait, wait, WAIT! Why is it right that I die for your son's murder? I haven't done anything wrong! Don't you people see that making me a slave and then killing me is murder too and is wrong?"

He guessed his plea didn't work because everyone started jeering at him.

He stuttered, "Th...there will be people looking for me. The F.B.I. knows where I am, they'll find me."

The old woman's smile fell and her gaze turned cold. She knelt so she was eye to eye with Mulder and her voice turned to a whisper. "Will they? I'll let you believe that for know. But just know that you are here to stay. There is no way out."

Mulder was in full panic mode now. He didn't believe her, but at the same time, he doubted himself. Was she right somehow?

She stood and turned to face the small crowd of people, throwing her arms in the air. "Let the initiation ceremony begin!"

And with that Mulder felt his handcuffs drop and several pairs of hands grabbed him as they dragged out of the barn and into the woods.


	4. Into the Fire

Hey y'all! Thank you all so much for reading this story! I also want to thank anyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed my story. You guys are amazing and your kind words keep me writing! Anyways, here's chapter 4! Enjoy! :)

* * *

Scully followed the old woman's directions and took a right off the road where the woman had said, but she was dismayed when she didn't come across a small village of people. Instead, she came across another long stretch of windy road that lead her further and further into the Oregon woods. After about 20 miles of driving, she saw a small cabin to her left. It looked old and dilapidated, but there were signs that someone was living there; a car in the driveway and fresh flowers in the windowsill.

She pulled into the drive way and knocked on the door. It wasn't long before she heard footsteps on the other side of the door and then a friendly face of an older gentleman, peering through the screen door.

Scully smiled at the man, "Hi, look, this is kind of strange, but my name's Dana Scully and I'm looking for a village, or a, uh, small town. I ran into an older woman in the last town back, and she gave me directions to this village, but for the life of me I can't find it. It is very, very important that I find it."

The old man suddenly looked sad. He opened the screen door and gestured for Scully to come inside.

"Please. I think I can help find what your looking for."

For some reason Scully felt safe. The old man felt gentle and calm, much to the contrary of the old woman she had encountered earlier.

She walked inside and was surprised by what she saw: a quaint little cabin, neatly decorated, with a fireplace blazing in the corner. A small couch and chair were nestled in the corner near the fireplace, and she went to sit down. The old man sat in the chair opposite her and cleared his throat before he began speaking.

"My name is George Ackers and..."

"Wait. Mr. Ackers?" Scully remembered his name from Mulder's case file. "I'm a federal agent and my partner was sent here to look for you and your wife on a tax evasion case. He's the reason I'm here; he's gone missing."

Mr. Ackers nodded his head, "Yes, I am Mr. Ackers. My story is a long one, but I will try to make it as clear and concise as possible for the sake of time. My wife and I were part of a small village that had a mysterious secret. But I'll get to that part later. We were all very close. My wife and I had three sons, we were happy and healthy. One day, my youngest son left our village. He was a...troubled child. Always searching, never truly happy. Well, he got involved in a robbery and encountered two federal agents when he was fleeing the scene. They tried to bring him in peacefully, but he resisted and pulled a gun on one of the agents. The other agent reacted and shot my son, killing him.

"When that happened, our once peaceful, happy village went into a downward spiral. My wife called the town to a meeting that night, declaring that justice be served in the case of our son's death. As heartbroken as I was that our son had died, I knew that the result of what happened to him was completely his fault, not the agents involved. My wife didn't see it that way."

The old man stood and started pacing in front of the fireplace. He had Scully's undivided attention.

"I left our village, and have resided here for the last 5 years. I could not stand what my wife, and my village had become. People filled with revenge and hate. If your partner stumbled into their hands, I shudder to think what they will do to him."

The man paused but Scully still had one unanswered question.

"What was the mysterious secret?"

Mr. Ackers gave her a sad smile.

"Ah, yes, the most important piece of information. Our little village, for whatever reason, for much longer than I have been alive, has had a secret that no one knows about. For reasons unbeknownst to me, our village cannot be found by anyone unless that person is given precise directions by a member in our village. And if they don't, the road to the village will be invisible to them. And even if they managed to come across the village, at it's exact location, they wouldn't be able to see it, feel it, or even hear it. The people in the village wouldn't even be able to see the trespassers."

He could see that Scully was having a hard time believing him, her face was incredulous.

"I understand that this is hard to believe, but it is true. If you want to find your partner, you need directions to the village and I, unfortunately, cannot give them to you."

By the time the man had finished, Scully noticed the sun had set, the fireplace was now the sole source of light in the house. His story was so crazy, but for some reason Scully believed him. At this point, she'd believe anything to find Mulder.

"So, the old woman that I encountered..."

"Yes, Jane. She was my wife. And, believe it or not, she used the be the love of my life."

Scully suddenly felt sorry for the man. He was alone and had lost, not just one son, but all three and his wife. His pain was eminent.

"I need to get your wife to tell me where Mulder is. She's my only hope at finding him."

Mr. Ackers gave Scully a gentle smile.

"I'm afraid that cannot be. You may try, but I know that she will continue to lead you astray. They have one scapegoat, they don't need another."

"Well, there has to be a way I can get to him!" Scully was on her feet now.

"There is only one way." Mr. Ackers sighed. "I can take you to the exact location of the town. It might be possible that you can leave a message for your partner, explaining his strange predicament. If he can escape and run beyond the border of our village, where the strange invisible veil ends, you might be able to save him."

Scully collapsed back onto the couch. "But it...it sounds impossible. How is it possible for me to get a message to him?"

With this the man suddenly showed Scully a mischievous smile and a glimmer of hope was in his eyes.

"I think I have an idea."

* * *

He never imagined that his life would end like this. He had devoted his life to the unknown, the paranormal, the unexplained, and he had always thought that his death would be related to those things in some way. He never once imagined that it would be for reasons so, human; reasons that weren't based on conspiracies and lies.

Instead, he thought to himself, my death will be the result of a run of the mill case gone bad. A normal case that should have been in and out. Something that doesn't even have anything to do with the X-Files.

He would have laughed if it didn't hurt so much.

He was in the middle of a forest in some no name town in Oregon, tied to a tree, both arms stretched as far back behind him and around the tree as possible. He could feel warm blood slowly oozing down his face; the inability to wipe it off was driving him crazy.

Fire danced in his vision as he focused on the scene in front of him. A large fire, about 20 feet away, was burning bright and he could hear excited voices and chattering from the 15 or so people sitting around it. Small children were running, screaming and laughing around the fire; their joy was evident. Just beyond the fire was a small village of broken down houses and huts. It was like he had stepped back in time. And he almost wished that was the case; at least then he'd be dying for an X-File, something strange and unexplainable.

Unfortunately, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Apparently, the 'Initiation Ceremony' involved tying Mulder to a tree on the outskirts of town and leaving him there overnight. The sun had just peaked below the tree line and Mulder guessed he had been tied to the tree for about 2 hours. He could tell that his fortitude was beginning to crumble, his muscles were beginning to seize and cramp and the cold, frigid air was causing him to shiver uncontrollably. His mental state was even worse. His feelings of hope were quickly waning and he was beginning to feel like his fate really did rest in these people's hands.

As the night carried on, the sounds of laughter and talking occurred less and less and a eerie hush fell over the village. The sudden lack of sound startled Mulder as he tried to make out what the people were doing. A rush of fear welled up inside him as he saw the people walking towards him, the old woman in the front; she had something in her hand. As they got closer, Mulder realized with horror what she had in her hand: a metal brand. He realized that the brand looked like the letters 'A' and 'J' overlapped. It looked to be about 4 inches by 4 inches.

The old woman stalked closer and closer to Mulder, the brand held firmly in her hand. He struggled to break free of his bonds, but they were too tight. He could feel a warmth in his wrists where the rope was cutting into his skin. The old woman held the brand over his ribcage, his right side. It hovered over his skin and Mulder could feel the warmth of it. The air was so cold, it almost felt pleasant. Almost.

The woman put her hand on Mulder's bare chest and pushed him up against the tree as hard as she could. Mulder held his breath as he saw the brand come closer, until it finally made contact with his skin. The first thing he noticed was the smell of burnt hair and then he felt the pain. It was pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. He had tried to mentally prepare himself for the pain, but it was so much more than he had expected.

He didn't know how long she held the brand to his side, but it felt like he had been screaming in agony for hours on hours.

"Please...please...stop..."

He knew they were his words but he didn't realize he had spoken them. He felt like his world was collapsing around him and he could feel his vision begin to fade; the fire off in the distance was becoming an orange haze. The pain was fading but he could still see the brand being pressed into his side. He looked into the crazed eyes of the woman before him, her smile a kind of evil he'd never known before.

That was the last thing he saw before he finally passed out.


	5. Into the Mystic

**Hey y'all! Sorry that it took forever for me to update this! But, anyways, here is chapter 5, enjoy! :)**

* * *

Scully had butterflies in her stomach as she and Mr. Ackers drove towards the invisible town. He had told her the story again on their drive but she still had a really hard time believing him. They were about half way there when a sudden thought flicked through her mind.

 _What if this is all some crazy lie to kidnap me like they did Mulder._

She glanced at the old man, who was driving intensely towards their destination. Scully shook her head.

 _Either way, this is probably my only chance to save Mulder._

Scully jumped in her seat when the old man spoke, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Only a few more minutes and we should be there."

Scully nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"What is the...plan exactly?"

At this Mr. Ackers gave her a mischievous smile.

"There is a tree in our town, that happens to sit right on the edge of the invisible veil. This tree is the only thing that is actually divided by the veil, meaning that it can be seen by both the invisible town and the outside world. Does that make sense?"

He looked over at Scully, his eyes full of excitement.

"So…that means we can somehow attach a message to the tree and Mulder would be able to find it?"

Mr. Ackers nodded his head vigorously. "Almost. We have to alter the tree in some way in order for him to see the message. I think etching it into the tree would do the trick. Looks like we're here."

He pulled the car right next to a tall, strong oak tree and parked. Scully looked past the oak tree and only saw a grassy meadow, trees sparsely filling in the area.

"The town," Scully started as they both stood, staring at the tree, "it's right in front of us? We can't see them and they can't see us?"

Again, the man nodded his head vigorously. "That's right. Unless they cross over the border, or unless we do, we can't see each other."

Scully couldn't help but scoff. "It's just…so hard to believe. If what you say is true, that means this little town is in some, some kind of alternate dimension that the people inside have this power over. I just don't see how it's physically possible."

Mr. Ackers shrugged his shoulders. "I can't begin to explain to you how it's possible; I don't know myself, but I will tell you that this is the only way for you to save your partner. Isn't that reason enough to believe?"

Again, Scully found herself believing the man. It went against every instinct she had, but it was almost like the disappearance of Mulder had cause her to look at the situation through his eyes. And she knew that if the situation was reversed, Mulder would be doing this very same thing for her.

"You're right. Did you bring a knife?"

Mr. Ackers grinned as he pulled out a pocket knife from his pocket and handed to Scully. She took it from him and went to the tree, standing in front of it so her back was facing the invisible town. She began etching her message into the wood and soon learned that it was harder than she thought. While she worked, a question popped into her mind.

"What's this town called, Mr. Ackers?"

He walked over and leaned on the tree, shaking his head. "I don't know; we never gave it a name. We all just called it 'Town'. It was all any of us had really ever known."

Scully gave Mr. Ackers an uncertain glance and continued to etch, finally on the last word. The sun was now peaking over the horizon.

"There." Scully stepped back and admired her handiwork. "Do you think he'll understand it?"

Mr. Ackers stood next to Scully, surveying the message.

"Yes, I think that will work perfectly. Now we just have to hope that he finds it."

Scully sighed. "Hope and pray."

And with that they sat down in the tall meadow grass and waited.

* * *

Mulder awoke to a bright light shining in his eyes. He squinted and slowly opened them only to be met by a beautiful sunrise; it was peaking just above the horizon. It was at this point when he realized the events that had unfolded to this point. He ran through it all in his mind, until his memory landed on last night. As if on cue, he felt a searing pain in his right side. He sucked in a deep breath as he slowly looked down at his side. He groaned as he saw the red and angry looking burn on his side.

"Well, that's not going away anytime soon." He mumbled grimly to himself.

He tried to move his hands before he remembered that he was still tied to a tree. He felt a surge of adrenaline and panic roll through him as he aggressively pulled at his bonds. He sagged against the tree as a wave of pain and nausea came over him.

Suddenly, he felt a strange crawling sensation on his back. For a brief moment, he panicked, not know what it was. The sensation began to move for about 10 minutes before it abruptly stopped. Just as curiosity was beginning to take hold, he noticed movement not too far away and was dismayed to see Jud and two other men he hadn't the pleasure of meeting walking toward him.

He looked past them at the sun rising, turning the sky a brilliant shade of red, as his thoughts drifted to Scully. In the wake of the pain he was in now and was probably going to be in, the thought of her enjoying her vacation with her family was comforting to him.

 _At least she's far away from this place._

* * *

A calm silence had spread over the meadow and Scully was surprised to feel a wave of sleepiness spread over her. It had been two hours since she'd left her message for Mulder on the tree and now all she could do was wait. Mr. Ackers had just gone back to his house to bring back food and water, so Scully was left to her own thoughts.

She was sitting, leaning against the tree, overlooking the meadow, hoping beyond hope that she wasn't too late and that Mulder would find her message. She was twirling the long grass between her fingers when she heard a strange, faint scratching noise coming from the tree. She jumped to her feet and took a closer look at the source of the noise.

She could see slight movement on the bark, as if something was being rubbed around the tree. It dawned on her that this meant that someone was doing something to the tree from the Town. She walked around the tree in a circle and became aware of voices. Startled, she looked around the tree again, still only seeing an empty meadow, and then she pressed her ear to the tree, straining to listen. She could hear someone breathing deeply, but it was muffled, as if she was hearing it through a wall. She heard a groan and then silence. She jerked her head away from the tree as she heard yelling and thuds coming from the other side of the tree. She pressed her ear against the tree as hard as she could until she could finally make out muffled words.

" _Get away from me, you son of a bitch!"_

She instinctively yelled out, "Mulder!"

Scully's heart pounded as she continued to hear what sounded like a struggle coming from beyond the tree. She gripped the side of the tree, feeling completely helpless. The sounds ebbed away until they finally stopped. She continued to cling to the tree, straining to hear Mulder's voice again, as tears streamed down her face. She sunk to the ground in a heap, staring beyond the tree, knowing that Mulder was out there, somewhere; so close but so far.

She leaned against the tree, her head in her hands, completely unaware of a hand emerging from across the invisible barrier, reaching closer and closer towards her.


	6. Into the Veil

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for sticking with me on this story. Also, thanks for all of the reviews! I just realized that I can respond to them individually, so I will definitely start doing that because they mean a lot.**

 **Anyways, here is chapter 6. Enjoy! :)**

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Mulder tore his eyes away from the beautiful sunrise, painfully aware that Jud and his two companions were getting closer and closer. He felt a searing pain from his wrists as he realized that he was still trying to free himself of his binds. His breath was coming in short, shallow bursts as they finally approached.

Mulder looked at them with as much hatred as he could muster.

 _I'm sure that I'm the opposite of intimidating._ He thought to himself darkly, remembering he was still only dressed in his boxers. Not to mention, he looked like a human punching bag right now.

Jud stopped in front of Mulder and pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket, clearly intending to gag him. Jud made his move, reaching, trying to put the cloth in Mulder's mouth but Mulder jerked his head away, trying his hardest to evade him even though he knew it would do no good.

"Get away from me, you son of a bitch!" It came out rushed and panicked, but that was exactly how he felt at the moment. Until he heard her voice.

"Mulder!"

It was faint, muffled, and seemed impossible but Mulder, as Jud finally secured the gag, couldn't help but respond in an even more muffled voice, "Scully?"

He looked wildly around, completely baffled how she could even be anywhere near this place; hopeful that she might be there to save him, but terrified at the idea of her being remotely near these psychopaths.

Lost in confusion, he was unaware of the other two men removing him from the tree and tying his hands behind his back, dragging him away from the tree and toward the Town. He kept trying to turn to look back toward the tree as they struggled to drag him further away from Scully's voice. Mulder felt a spasm of panic as he saw Jud walking up next to the tree and extending his hand beyond it.

"No!" Mulder yelled through his gag. Scully had to be there if Jud had heard her too. She had to be hiding behind the tree somehow.

None of it made sense, but Mulder always trusted his instincts and his instincts told him that Scully was really nearby and she was in danger.

Mulder made a desperate move to escape and drove the heel of his right foot down on one of his captors feet. He felt a crunch and heard a strangled cry as a pair of hands removed their grip. Almost at the same time, Mulder squated down and thrusted upward, catching the other captors chin with the top of his head.

It all happened in a blur. He heard the second captor drop as he turned toward Jud and ran toward him as fast as he could manage. As if it were happening in slow motion, he saw Jud pulling someone through what seemed to be, impossibly, an invisible veil. To his horror, he realized it was Scully. She fought back as her body slowly emerged through to the other side of the veil. Jud had a strong grip on her arm but he was pulling her toward him with difficulty.

Mulder fell suddenly with a groan and looked up. He was pleased to see blood coming from Jud's nose and he could see Scully punch him hard in the groin. Mulder scrambled to his feet once again and stumbled towards her.

He realized almost at once that this was a mistake. Scully had driven Jud to his knees and she spotted Mulder as she glanced over Jud's shoulder. In an instant, her distraction was her downfall.

Jud seized the opportunity and backhanded Scully hard across the face, sending her crashing to the ground. Mulder yelled as he stumbled to his knees, his body exploding with pain and black dots dancing in his vision.

As he lay there in the soft meadow grass, the sun now fully risen, he watched helplessly as Jud roughly tied Scully up and heaved her to feet.

"No, no, no..." He muttered over and over to himself.

In a moment of adrenaline and raw determination, he managed to push himself to his feet once again and charged at Jud, feeling nothing but pure hatred for the man who was now pulling Scully toward the Town with one hand.

Mulder realized that what he was doing was stupid and reckless, but all he could feel was anger and it had momentarily consumed him. He ran at Jud but suddenly he felt two strong hands grip around his arms, bringing him to a halt. He watched as the other captor grabbed Scully from Jud, blood was dripping down his chin and he looked murderous. The hands tightened painfully around Mulder as Jud walked briskly up to him; he had never seen his eyes look so crazed before.

He heard Scully cry out before he felt the impact of Jud's fist on his burned ribcage. He let out a strangled cry as his knees went out. The captor holding him heaved him back to his feet right as Jud sent another punch to his ribs again.

This time, Mulder heard a crack as he sank to his knees. He heard himself cry out again and he could hear Scully now shouting angrily at Jud, even though he couldn't understand what she was saying. In fact, he couldn't hear anything anymore. He was sort of within and without, not really there but still faintly aware of what was going on around him. He could hear Scully's muffled voice, still angry. He could feel the soft grass now moving beneath his knees and he could see blurry shapes of people growing closer and closer. He felt himself being pushed aggressively to the ground on his back and he looked up. His vision was blurry, but he still managed to make out the smiling face of the old woman, peering over him.

And with that, he retreated into unconsciousness.


	7. Into the Unknown

**First off, thank you guys for the amazing reviews! You guys really motivate me to keep writing and updating this story. Y'all are the best! So things have definitely taken a turn for the worst for Mulder and Scully, so it's going to be getting interesting from here. After this chapter, things are going to be picking up and getting crazy, so stay tuned! :)**

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Scully was sitting, leaning against the tree. She felt completely overwhelmed by the situation that she and Mulder were in. As she was lost in thought, she was completely unaware of a hand, slowly inching nearer and nearer. If she could have seen it, it would have looked like an invisible hand floating in the air.

In an instant, the hand gripped her arm and violently jerked her backwards. She stood up to fight back and instinctively reached for the pocket knife in her pocket, but realized that this might be her only way to get into the Town. She planted her foot on the tree, and pulled out her cell phone. She pressed number 4 on her speed dial and dropped her phone by the tree. She continued to fight back, but slowly let the attacker pull her in.

It was like being dunked in ice cold water as her body was pulled through the invisible barrier. She faintly heard, " _Hello? Hello?"_ coming from her phone, but she couldn't speak. Her arm was now through to the other side, completely invisible. She watched with amazement as the rest of her was pulled through until, finally, her head came through and she was face to face with her attacker.

When she was finally through, she seized her opportunity to fight back. She sent a hard left hook to the giant man's nose and felt a satisfying crunch as her fist made contact. The man flinched and released his grip on Scully's arm, leaving her totally free. She threw all her weight into a hard punch into the man's groin.

He let out a groan and dropped to the ground on his knees. Scully was just getting ready to send an uppercut his way, when she saw a figure laying in the grass not far ahead. A gasp escaped her lips, _Mulder._ She instantly realized her mistake and, before she had a chance to react, she felt a sharp sting as the giant man backhanded her, hard.

She crumpled to the ground and tasted blood as she felt herself being tied up and roughly heaved to her feet. The man held a firm grip on her arm and she looked up to see Mulder charging toward them, looking crazed. She looked past him and saw two other men who looked a little worse for wear, running toward Mulder. One of them roughly grabbed Mulders arms and pinned them to his side. The other came over and grabbed her from the giant man.

There was a split second where no one moved and Scully felt her stomach drop as she saw how badly her partner was injured. She could clearly tell that he had been beaten, but she could also see a red and angry mark on his right side, which looked like a severe burn. Other than that, she could see he was breathing sharply, which probably meant he had a broken or fractured rib. She felt anger suddenly well up inside her.

She watch with baited breath as the giant man quickly walked up to Mulder and punched him hard in his already injured ribcage.

"No!" She pulled against her captor, but his grip was strong.

Mulder was heaved to feet again just as the giant man sent another punch to his ribcage again.

"You son of a bitch!" Scully was now pulling with all her might. She had never had such an intense urge to hurt someone as she did with this giant man.

The man holding her started walking ahead, pushing her, toward what Scully assumed was the Town. She watched as the other man and the giant man each grabbed one of Mulder's arms and started dragging him in the same direction.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want?" She heard panic in her voice, but still felt anger more than anything. She glanced at Mulder with concern, he didn't seem to be unconscious, but looked close.

They finally arrived to the Town and stopped by a giant fire pit which was surrounded by people. Scully instantly recognized the old woman as Mulder was dropped on his back by her feet. She leaned over and smiled at him before she straightened and turned her attention to Scully.

"Well, this is a surprise." The old woman walked up to Scully, motioning to the man holding her.

Scully looked around, unsure, but was surprised when the man untied her.

"I really was hoping you wouldn't find a way here, though I am curious how you did. Your partner was all we wanted, not you."

Scully was confused at the woman's calm demeanor. For a moment, she almost felt safe and relaxed by her presence, until she looked at Mulder, who was now fully awake, watching the old woman through.

"W...why do you want my partner?" Scully slowly asked.

The old woman sighed and looked over at Mulder. "It's a long story, but I will tell you that it is because of justice. My son was taken too soon by one of yours, now were making it right. He has been through the trial and we have decided that he his to serve the remainder of his days as a slave to us."

Scully looked at the woman, unable to speakr, then down at Mulder. She was now truly scared.

"So this...this whole thing is about revenge? For what happened to your son? How can you think this is justice?" She was yelling now and motioned to Mulder. "My partner is innocent. He hasn't done anything wrong, so why should he suffer?"

Scully was really beginning to hate this old woman and her creepy smile.

Mulder croaked, "You can't change her mind, Scully, I've already been through that once." He tried to let out a laugh, but it turned into a groan.

Suddenly, the woman clapped her hands and the people around her started moving. Two of the women grabbed Scully and started dragging her away, toward one of the houses. Two men reached down and grabbed Mulder by the arms, roughly pulling him to his feet dragging him away also.

Mulder suddenly realized that they were pulling him in the opposite direction of Scully and he felt a burst of panic.

"Scully!" He managed to jerk free of one of the men. "Let go of me you sons of bitches. She has nothing to do with this! You people are si-" He felt a burst of pain in his back as he collapsed to the ground. His body exploded with pain as he continued to feel something hard hitting him.

Scully continued to be dragged away as she watch an infuriated Jud relentlessly hitting Mulder with what looked like a police baton.

"Dammit," She breathed under breath, aware that there was nothing she could do at this point. She watched as the giant man stopped and the men grabbed Mulder again, throwing him into a large, wooden structure that closely resembled a jail cell. He fell in a heap on the ground, his hands now untied, and Scully felt herself being dragged into one of the houses. Suddenly, she was thrown into a comfortable looking bedroom and the door slammed; she heard it being locked from the outside. She ran to the window, which had metal bars on it, and looked for Mulder. He still appeared to be unconscious and he looked so vulnerable; it made Scully uneasy. She noticed the old woman standing near Mulder's cell, watching him, and Scully felt anger rise up in her again.

"He needs medical attention!" She was yelling through the bars but the old woman was ignoring her. "I'm a doctor, at least...at least let me make sure he doesn't die!"

But the old woman turned and walked away, towards the biggest house in the circle.

Scully continued to stare out the window at Mulder, hoping that he would move, letting her know he was still alive. She didn't know how long she watched him but, finally, she saw him stir, moving and pushing himself onto his back. She breathed a sigh of relief.

 _He's okay, for now anyways._

She walked away from the window and sat on the edge of her bed, realizing how exhausted she was.

 _Now if Mulder can hold back his smart remarks from now on, we might be able to get out of this alive._

She let out an incredulous laugh as she laid on her back, staring at the ceiling, still trying to process how this was all even possible. Her head was swimming with ideas and plans of escape but, before she knew it, she had drifted into peaceful sleep.

* * *

Mr. Ackers was driving back to the tree, lunch in tow. He had made a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grabbed some chips, and some bottled water. He pulled up to his original parking spot and was immediately aware that Scully was no where to be seen. He jumped out of the car and looked all over, but to no avail; she seemed to have disappeared. His worst fears were confirmed when he saw Scully's phone laying on the ground right next to the tree. He grabbed the open phone and saw there was a missed call from Walter Skinner.

He hit call and was surprised when someone picked up after the second ring.

" _Hello?"_

"Er, hello, is this Walter Skinner?" Mr. Ackers asked with uncertainty.

The voice slowly answered, but with authority. " _Yes, who is this?"_

"This is George Ackers. I'm calling you on Dana Scully's behalf. She's in trouble and I think she wanted me to call you."

 _"What happened and where are you?"_

So Mr. Ackers went into a full explanation of the events that had unfolded. He left no detail out, no matter how crazy it sounded.

"So are you...are you a federal agent too? Can you do something to help them?" Mr. Ackers asked nervously.

He heard a sigh on the other end and he felt even more nervous. " _I used to be their Assistant Director, but I'll come down there with a team right now. One way or another, we'll get them out of there."_

Mr. Ackers let out a sigh of relief, at least he wasn't alone in this anymore. He could tell that Skinner probably didn't believe him, he probably thought he was a lunatic holding them captive himself. But it didn't matter, as long as they were coming to help, that's all he wanted, even though he wasn't sure how it was possible to rescue them.

He heard a click as their call was disconnected. He walked back to his car, unwrapped a sandwich, and waited, hoping that Scully and her partner were alright.


	8. Into the Lion's Den

**Hey guys! I made a map of the town, but I guess I can't post images on here, so hopefully I've explained it enough to make sense!**

 **Thanks again for the reviews and follows by the way. Here's chapter 8! :)**

* * *

Scully woke up to the sunshine lightly filtering through her window. She stretched out her arms and yawned, savoring the cool morning breeze that was drifting through the open window. With a jolt, her eyes snapped open and she shot up, finally remembering where she was. She ran her hand through her hair as she recollected the events that led her to this point. Darting to her feet, she rushed to her open window and peered through the bars, looking for Mulder. He was now sitting upright, leaning against the side of his cell; she could see him holding his arm against his injured ribcage.

It dawned on her that she still had the pocket knife and suddenly, she had an idea.

She bolted to a dresser that was sitting next to her bed, and rifled through the drawers. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found what she was looking for: a piece of paper and a pencil.

Furiously, she wrote a note, folded it, and stuffed it in her pocket.

A nagging thought came to her mind.

 _Why did they leave the knife? They took my gun when they searched me, but I'd forgotten about the knife..."_

Before she had too much time to dwell on it, she jumped as someone opened the door; she turned to look as a woman poked her head in.

"Miss Jane would like to have a word with you." She gave Scully a forced smile and opened the door all the way, motioning for Scully to follow her.

Tentatively, Scully followed the woman as she led her through a narrow hallway. Scully noticed that there was a bathroom across from her room and another room with a closed door. She glance behind her and saw a stairway to the left and an open door which appeared to lead to a kitchen; she could see two small children sitting at the dining table. She looked ahead at the woman leading her and it dawned on her that this was probably her house.

 _She looks so normal,_ Scully thought to herself. _How did she end up in a place like this?_

Scully cleared her throat as they walked through the front door.

"May I ask you a question?"

When the woman didn't answer, Scully decided to press on.

"How long have you lived here?"

The woman's answer was abrupt. "My whole life. We all have."

Scully nodded her head and realized they were walking to Jane's house, the biggest one. She kept looking over at Mulder and saw that he was now watching them; she felt a pang of distress for him.

As they approached Jane's house, Scully saw her sitting in a rocking chair on her porch; she motioned for Scully to sit in the one next to her.

The woman who led Scully suddenly turned and began walking back to her house. Scully felt she had no choice but to oblige Jane's request.

She sat in the chair awkwardly, not sure of what to say or if she should say anything at all. The silence was becoming uncomfortable so Scully opened her mouth to speak when Jane blurted out, "I don't expect you to understand all this."

More silence and Scully tensed.

"My husband, George, and I started this town many, many years ago. We were young and foolish then and we meddled with dark and evil forces."

The old woman shuddered and Scully was rapt.

"I won't go into details. I wouldn't even know how to explain it. But somehow we unleashed a force on this town that was unlike anything I'd ever dreamed possible. Our little village became invisible to the outside world, and it to us. At first we thought it was a curse but, after a while, we grew to appreciate the power that we had. The force only affected our village, our homes, but the rest of the town outside it was unaffected so we worked outside the force. We opened the gas station and started up a little store, that's how we get our supplies and money. It was all so perfect."

Scully let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and glance up at Mulder, who was still watching from afar. The woman continued.

"My son was... discontent with our way of life. He wanted to explore the world around him. He was restless, like a caged animal. He was murdered looking for happiness outside of our safe little town. Murdered by your kind."

Scully opened her mouth to protest then immediately shut it, reminding herself that it would do more harm than good.

"Shortly after, my husband left too. Our town became too closed in for him; he said he felt like he couldn't breath here anymore. He said that...that whatever force was keeping us safe, was also changing us somehow, making us different. So he left and I was left in charge. Since those events, our town has been in a state of unrest."

She paused and let out a deep sigh. Scully was now on the edge of her seat.

"Then your partner came waltzing into our laps and I couldn't resist. Finally, a way to put people's minds at rest. Finally, someone who could serve the punishment for my son's death. A way bring serve justice."

She looked at Scully with kind eyes.

"Like I said, I don't expect you to understand. But you and your partner can never leave here, ever."

Scully looked around, confusion spread across her face. Knowing what she already knew, she fully believe Jane's story but she also believed that she was crazy. She believed what Jane had said about George, that the force was changing the residents. It seemed like Jane was teetering between sanity and insane, cruel and kind; she was being pulled in opposite directions.

"You are free, however, to live and roam our town as you wish. You haven't done any wrong."

Scully decided to try to reason with her.

"But, neither has Mulder. Punishing him just doesn't make any sense. It isn't justice if an innocent man pays for the crimes of another."

The woman chuckled. "Your partner has already received his sentence, there's no hope trying to convince me. He will live the remainder of his days to do our bidding and to be punished for my son's death."

 _She is crazy,_ Scully thought to herself.

She looked again at Mulder and saw that he was still watching them. It could have been her imagination, but he seemed to be slumped over more. Scully racked her brain, trying to think of the best way to play this situation.

"At least..." She composed herself, "at least let me examine my partner. I'm a medical doctor, let me make sure he doesn't die on you."

The old woman smiled kindly at Scully. "There is a first aid kit in the kitchen under the sink. You may retrieve it and tend to your partner."

"Thank you..." Scully breathed.

She ran into the kitchen, quickly found the first aid kit, and ran to Mulder's cell. She glanced behind her and realized that Jud was following her closely. When she arrived, Jud pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked Mulder's door and let Scully in. She walked in as Jud closed the door, locked it again, and sat in a chair that was near the firepit, just within earshot.

Scully turned her attention to Mulder, who was sitting, leaning against the bars, his arm still around his ribcage.

"Hey Scully, fancy seeing you here." He smirked.

She couldn't help but smile a little. Leave it to Mulder to find humor in every situation.

She knelt down next to him and quickly surveyed his injuries.

His face was bruised and one eye was nearly swollen shut. He had a large gash above his left eye and was sporting several small cuts on his face. His torso was also bruised and he had several abrasions, not to mention small moderate burn marks all over his body. She gently pulled Mulder toward her, away from the bars, so she could see his back.

"Oh, Mulder..."

She inhaled sharply when she saw the damage done by Jud the previous night. His back and the back of his arms were covered in welts and bruises. He was a wreck.

She gently eased him back against the bars and moved his arm away from his ribcage, glad to see there weren't any protruding bones but she felt anger well inside her when she saw what the brand was.

 _Jane's initials._

She gently felt his ribcage, then sighed and looked Mulder in the eyes, all traces of humor were long gone.

"I don't think any of your ribs are broken, just fractured. Have you coughed up any blood at all?"

Mulder slowly shook his head. "No. But it sure hurts like hell."

Scully gave him a weak smile. "I don't doubt it."

Mulder returned her smile and reached for her hand, squeezing it tight.

They sat like that for a long time before Scully opened the first aid kit and started working on Mulder. She fixed him up the best that she could, but she just hoped he didn't say anything else that would cause him more pain. Before she left, she kissed him on the forehead squeezed his hand. Jud escorted her back to the house where she was being locked up at. The woman who lived there informed Scully that they were eating dinner and Scully obliged, unsure of when her next chance would be to eat.

As she sat there at the dinner table, eating with a strange family she knew nothing about, she still couldn't believe how unbelievable their situation was in. She chuckled to herself.

 _If case deserves to be an X-file, this one sure does._

* * *

Mulder watched Scully walk away, eternally grateful for her being there for him, but not happy that she was there. The last thing he ever wanted was for her to get mixed up in this situation.

 _At least they only seem to be interested in me._

He looked up as Jud escorted Scully to one of the houses and started walking away, towards Jane's house. Mulder's hand was clenched on his lap and once he was sure that Jud was out of sight enough, he uncurled his fist; there was a note inside.

Mulder unfolded the note and read it, the handwriting was sloppy, but unmistakable:

 _Mulder, I don't know if you've come to this conclusion yet yourself, but I can say with certainty, that we are somehow caught in the middle of a strange force that is keeping this town invisible to outsiders. The outside world is invisible to them and they are invisible to it. Beyond that, outsiders can't enter without precise directions from a resident of the town or, as I've found out first hand, by a resident pulling you in. I don't have time to elaborate, but Jane's husband lives a few miles from here, and he's the reason I know all this and that I'm here in the first place. I managed to leave him my cell phone with indirect instructions to call Skinner and explain our situation. With everything I said previously being true, I know that Skinner won't be able to get us out because he can't come in, but I would feel better about escaping if the whole Bureau is waiting for us outside. I'm sure you were already thinking the same thing, we don't really have a choice but to escape. I don't know when we'll get a good opportunity, but it'll have to be at night and we'll have to be sneaky. I'll try to alert you somehow when the time is right. That's all I have time for for now. Hang on Mulder, we're going to get of this._

 _P.s._

 _Make sure that you destroy this note and hide the evidence._

Mulder put down the note and smiled. For the first time since his hellish first day here, Mulder felt hope and it felt good. Before, it was all up to him but now he had Scully and he felt that together they could do anything.

* * *

Skinner's first impression of George was that he was an odd fellow; his story certainly was. He stood looking at the tree that George had described in his story and was wondering if this was all a waste of time. He knew that Mulder believed in all this science fiction crap, but he sure as hell didn't. Still, he knew Mulder and Scully were missing, and this was their only lead.

When the team had arrived, he received permission from George to search his property, but they found no traces of Mulder and Scully. As far as he could tell, his story checked out. He knew that George had gotten Scully's phone somehow, and the forensic team and found traces of Mulder's blood at the nearby gas station.

George had told him that their only hope of getting in and saving them was to wait for one of the residents to come out, grab them, and force them to bring them in, one by one. It was a flimsy plan at best, but Skinner decided to go along with it for now.

So now all they could do was wait.


	9. Into the Woods, Again

**Hey all! Sorry for taking such a long time to update. I've been mulling over where to take this story, and I've recently got a burst of inspiration! This chapter is extra long and adventure packed, so hopefully it makes up for taking so long to update.**

 **Enjoy! :)**

* * *

The next few days went so slow, that Mulder felt like time must have stopped.

One whole week after Scully gave him the note, he was forced to clean every part of Jane's house. _On the bright side,_ he thought bitterly as he hobbled room to room, _at least they finally gave me some clothes to wear._ Even though it was a simple grey shirt and jeans, Mulder was thankful that he wasn't only in his boxers anymore.

The whole day, Jud was hovering behind Mulder, watching his every move. The day had gone pretty smoothly, though, and Mulder was glad that he had made it this far without incident. He had just finished cleaning Jane's house, when he walked out onto the porch, followed closely by Jud. Jane was there, sitting in her rocking chair, looking at Mulder with contempt.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" Mulder shot back, jaw set, suddenly on edge.

Jane glared at Mulder. "Are you all finished?"

"You guessed it." His mouth slid into a smirk; he knew he was pushing his luck, but he didn't care.

Jane coughed and smoothed her skirt out. "You will address me as, ma'am, from this point forward, do you understand me?"

Mulder scoffed. "You can go to hell."

Jane shot to her feet and snapped, "Watch your mouth."

"No," Mulder stepped toward her, he had finally snapped. "You watch your mouth, bitch."

As soon as he said it, he knew that he went too far. He felt Jud's strong hands grip his arms as he was shoved off the porch onto the ground. Jud jumped off the step and roughly pulled Mulder to his feet. The look in his eyes sent a cold chill through Mulder.

"You'll pay for that."

Mulder heard Jane say, "Jud, give him 30."

Mulder didn't have time to process what she had said before another man grabbed him. The two of them forcefully led Mulder into the barn, it's huge doors already open. They shoved Mulder to the ground again and Mulder fought as they pulled his shirt off and tied rope around his wrists. He kicked out at them, but it didn't do any good. He looked up and saw the the ropes lead up, wrapping around a large beam overhead. His stomach dropped as he realized what was happening. Wildly, he looked behind him at Jud holding a whip in his hand. He felt a tug on his wrists as the ropes tightened, and pulled him upward until his feet barely touched the ground. The discomfort was immediate and he groaned as pain radiated from his ribcage.

 _This isn't happening. This isn't happening._

He closed his eyes, muttering this to himself. His stomach was in a knot as he waited for the first blow. It felt like an eternity before he heard the crack of the whip. Then came the pain. He let out a stifled cry and his body arced as the whip made contact with his bare back.

"You son of a bi-"

Another crack. And then another explosion of pain.

Again and again and again, Mulder endured strikes from Jud's whip. By the 12th one, he couldn't hold his screams any longer. He no longer cared if it made him look weak, all he wanted was for it to stop.

As the lashing continued, Mulder turned his thoughts to Scully. Thinking of her strength that had helped him maintain hope over the past week. He tried to let these thoughts carry him through the torture he was enduring, but it was so hard. It was so hard to understand why this was happening to him; to them.

The blinding pain pulled him out of his thoughts and he was startled to feel the stream of hot tears rolling down his face. His legs had given out on him a while ago and black dots were swirling in his vision.

Two more cracks of the whip and then silence.

Across the grounds, Scully watched Mulder from her barred window, silent tears running down her face.

* * *

Scully sat on her bed, staring blankly at the dusty hardwood floor. Her door suddenly flung open and she abruptly stood up when she saw Jud dragging an unconscious Mulder into her room. He dropped Mulder in front of her feet and extended a hand, which appeared to be holding an ancient first aid kit.

Wearily, Scully took the kit and bent down to examine Mulder. His face was bruised and bloody, but that was nothing compared to his back. Gently, she rolled him onto his stomach and her breath caught in her throat. His back was covered in whip marks and blood and Scully immediately started cleaning the wounds.

Jud's deep voice broke the silence. "Will he live?"

Scully's shot Jud a venomous look, but stopped herself from reacting in anger. An idea had popped into her head. "Maybe, but he'll need my full attention for a while, a few days at least."

Jud cleared his throat. "I don't know about tha..."

Scully continued to give her full attention to Mulder. "Listen, do you want him to die or not? It's your choice."

Jud narrowed his eyes. "No. But he can't stay in here with you."

Scully shot to her feet. "If he doesn't, he will die."

A look of fear flitted across Jud's face. Scully could tell he was on the fence. "If he dies, Ma will be so angry."

"Maybe you shouldn't have whipped him within an inch of his life if you were so concerned about that." She didn't hide the anger from her voice.

"Fine. 3 days. 3 days and then he's back in the cage."

With that, Jud left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Scully let out a breath of relief as she bent back down to finish cleaning Mulder's wounds.

It was a long, arduous process, but she let out a shaky breath as she looked down at Mulder's cleaned and bandaged back. Gently, she rolled him onto his back, and cleaned the cuts on his face and torso, paying extra attention to the burn on his ribcage, which looked infected.

She was applying the final bandage to his burn, when he groaned and slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Scully.

"Scully? What are you...How did I get here?"

Scully smiled sadly. "Jud brought you to me. Do you know what you've been through."

Mulder squeezed his eyes shut and slowly nodded his head, choosing not to say anything.

"We need to get you on the bed. Do you think you can stand?"

"I think so."

With great effort, Scully helped Mulder into her bed. Once she had him situated she crawled in next to him, forgetting how small the bed was.

"Wow, Scully." Mulder croaked, feeling Scully's body against his. "I'm flattered, but I don't think I'm in the mood tonight."

Scully chuckled. "Don't flatter yourself, Mulder."

They spend a few moments just lying there, staring into each others eyes before Mulder spoke.

"Seriously though, Scully. When are we gonna ditch this place."

Scully sighed. "Well, you're in no condition to break out right now. But Jud said he'd let you stay with me for a few days. I think we should let a couple days pass and make our move."

Mulder grinned, but it turned into a grimace; it was painful to smile. "Can't wait."

Scully smiled, but felt herself slipping into the comforting arms of sleep.

Mulder watch her sleeping for a long time, the moonlight streaming from the window, illuminating the two of them. A small smile stuck on his lips as he finally descended into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

The next couple of days brought such pain that Mulder had never known in his life, but it also brought happiness, since he was able to spend time with Scully instead being stuck in the cage.

Scully had diligently tended to Mulder's wounds and, by the second day, she felt confident that he was at least stable enough for them to make their escape.

It was the end of Mulder's third day with Scully, their tenth day in the Town. The sun was just setting behind the trees, and Mulder and Scully put their plan into action.

Scully pulled her pocket knife from her pocket, and quickly and quietly picked the lock to their door. They crept down the hall and into the living room, where the family's gun cabinet was located. Again, Scully easily picked the lock; she grabbed a pistol and Mulder grabbed a rifle.

Suddenly a light popped on in the hallway behind them. Scully felt her stomach drop; she had forgotten to shut their door.

The woman that had been escorting Scully, ran down the hall, holding a vicious looking knife in her hand. She ran at Scully and wildly swung it at her. Scully jumped back and gasped as the blade sliced through her shirt and into her ribcage. She heard scuffling next to her and assumed that the husband was trying to subdue Mulder. The woman attacked again, but this time Scully was ready. She deflected her attack, knocking the knife from her grip, and punched the woman in the face. She staggered back for a moment before charging again, hitting Scully with a right hook and a sharp jab. Scully tumbled to the floor, prepared for the attack that was sure to come. The woman lunged at her again, but then dropped suddenly. Scully looked up to see Mulder, breathing deeply, holding his rifle in his hand; the husband was unconscious on the floor as well.

Mulder pulled Scully on her feet. "C'mon, let's go!"

They sprinted through the door, trying to regroup, and instantly heard shouting that seemed to be increasing in volume. The town had somehow learned of their escape.

Porch lights all over the Town sprang to life as the townspeople flooded out of their houses, guns in hand. Mulder saw Jane walk onto her porch, rifle in hand.

"This way!" Mulder grabbed Scully's hand and they sprinted toward the wood shed that was across the grounds.

Shots rang out, but the two of them managed to fling themselves behind the wood shed, each returning fire. Mulder leaned against the shed, his back felt like it was on fire. He pushed past the pain and peaked his head around the corner, realizing that the two of them were facing a small army. He became distantly aware of a a different pain, blossoming in his right shoulder, but Scully's voice pulled him away.

"Mulder, we have to make a run for it. It's the only way."

For a brief moment, their eyes locked and Mulder could see a flash of terror in Scully's eyes. He was sure she saw the same in his.

He gripped her hand. "Ready?"

She set her jaw and nodded. "Ready."

"Go!"

They both set off at a run, sprinting as fast as they could. Mulder kept turning and firing a shot, hoping to keep them at bay, trying to ignore the pain racking his body with every step. They ran past the edge of the forest and Mulder realized that no more shots had been fired at them since they made a run for it.

Mulder came to a halt, pulling Scully behind a tree, suddenly hyper aware of their surroundings. "Wait, Scully."

"Mulder, wha..."

He held up a finger to shush her, and it didn't take her long to realize why.

It was dead silence.

Scully peered from behind the tree, looking at the Town through the trees. There wasn't one person in sight.

Scully whispered, "What do we do now?"

Mulder didn't answer right away. He looked down at Scully, noticing her bruised face and busted lip; her shirt bloodied from the knife wound. He wondered what he ever did to deserve a partner as amazing and strong as her.

"Mulder?"

He shook his head slightly. "Right, lets keep moving. But be as quiet as possible and listen for any noise. They know these woods a lot better than we do."

They continued to work their way through the forest, on high alert, when Scully broke the silence.

"We should be working our way towards the meadow clearing, towards the tree where I found you. That's where help should be, if there is any."

Mulder nodded his head as he moved a branch out of the way. "It should be to the East. Hopefully these trees will be good cover for us for a while."

They walked in silence for a while before Scully suddenly remembered something.

"You know that tree you were tied to? I etched a note on it for you."

Mulder glanced at Scully, he noticed that her face was getting red. He felt a grin spread on his face.

"Oh? What did it say?"

Now it was Scully's turn to grin.

"That's for you to find out."

Their mood lightened considerably for a while longer as they trudged through the forest. For a moment, Mulder felt a sense of longing as he glanced at Scully walking beside him to his left. He felt a longing for a normal life where he and Scully were friends, or maybe even more than friends, walking through the forest, hiking, camping, doing normal things that normal people enjoyed. But, instead, here they were: beaten, bleeding, on the run from a Town full of psychotic maniacs. He sighed, just another day at the office.

The dull throbbing in his should suddenly turned into a sharp pain, pulling him out of his thoughts. He let in a sharp intake of breath, and looked at Scully, hoping she didn't notice; she didn't. He looked down at the source of the pain, his right shoulder, and felt a shock when he saw that there was a bloody hole through it. He gritted his teeth and kept moving foward, he couldn't let this slow them down and he definitely didn't want Scully to find out.

 _Crunch. Crunch._

Scully flung out an arm in front of Mulder, looking wildly around for the source of the broken branches. Mulder grimaced as he felt pain radiate from his shoulder as her hand struck his chest.

 _Crunch. Crunch. Crunch._

It was getting closer.

Mulder brought the rifle to his shoulder, ignoring the pain, hoping that adrenaline would take over again.

 _Crunch. Crunch._

It was behind them now.

Mulder and Scully wildly swung around, but still couldn't see anyone.

 _Crunch. Crunch._

Scully turned back behind her and let out a gasp before a figure sent a fist flying into her face as she tumbled into Mulder, her gun flying into the night. At the same time, another figure jumped out, grabbing Mulder's gun and shoving it into the air. Mulder sent a kick toward the figure, but suddenly he was thrown off balance by Scully. He staggered sideways, trying to maintain his footing. He heard Scully fighting with the other person, as Mulder sent a right hook toward his assailant, which he now came to recognize as Jud. Anger rose up within him, as he sent a right hook flying toward Jud's face. He felt his fist collide and he squatted down, anticipating Jud's counterpunch. He rose with a left upper hook, but missed. Suddenly, he felt pain bloom once again in his shoulder, as he realized Jud had found his weak point. Jud grabbed Mulder's collar and threw him as hard as he could across the small clearing of trees. Jud briskly walked to Mulder, until he was hovering over head. Mulder's breath was coming in ragged gasps; his injuries from before were catching up with him. Abruptly, Jud picked up his foot and dug the heel of his boot into Mulder's injured shoulder. He couldn't stop the scream that escaped from his lips as Jud continued to press harder and harder. A evil smile spread across Jud's face as took his foot off of Mulder and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up until they were face to face. He struck Mulder's face again and again with his giant fist and Mulder could feel blood streaming from his nose. Something silver and shiny gleamed in Jud's free hand and Mulder felt a jolt of panic as Jud brought it closer to Mulder's throat.

Right next to them, Scully was fighting her own battle. After she was knocked into Mulder, she rose to her feet and quickly attacked her attacker, which was one of the men that had dragged Mulder away from the tree on Scully's first day in the Town. Her size was an advantage, as she easily dodged her attackers slow and heavy punches. She punched and punched and was satisfied to see a steady flow of blood coming from the man's nose. He surprised her with a kick to her already injured abdomen that sent her flying into a tree. Hazy, she picked herself up, grabbing a large rock on her way. In the distance, she saw Mulder on the ground, a large man looming over him, stepping on him. Then she heard him scream. A rush of adrenaline pumped through her as she saw her attacker rushing toward her. Right when he got close enough, she brought the rock around, right into the man's face and immediately saw his body drop.

Mulder's screams pierced through Scully's body again and she, in disbelief, saw Mulder's rifle only a few feet away from her. Scooping the rifle up, she sprinted at Mulder's attacker, cocking the rifle as she cleared the distance between them. Everything slowed to a crawl as she saw the man bringing a knife down to Mulder's face. She sucked in a deep breath and she put her finger on the trigger and pulled.

It sounded like an explosion.

Scully didn't even break stride. She sprinted toward Mulder, pushing aside Jud's lifeless body off of Mulder, and sank to her knees next to him.

"Mulder..."

She cupped his unconscious face in her hands, and began nervously running her hands over his body, checking for new injuries. Immediately, she spotted the bullet wound in his shoulder. But it would have to wait. For now, they had to get moving.

"Mulder." She said more forcefully, as she shook him awake.

His eyes snapped open as he wildly tried to sit up.

"Mulder!" Scully pushed him down. "Mulder! We need to go now!"

Mulder's chest was heaving and his eyes were wild.

"Scully..." He blinked hard as he looked into her face above his.

"Mulder...we need to get moving."

He nodded as Scully helped him get to his feet. Once up, he put his hand on Scully's shoulder for support and he also became aware of Jud's dead body on the ground.

As wrong as it might have been, Mulder felt a sense of relief seeing Jud dead. More than that, a sense that justice had finally been served. His tormenter would never touch him or Scully again.

Scully grabbed his arm and pulled him into the forest, away from the grisly scene behind them.

Adrenaline once again kicked in, as they made their way, much more slowly, through the forest.

In the near distance Scully could see bright sunlight filtering through the trees, and then, suddenly, they broke through the line of trees into the grassy meadow.

Mulder held his arm against his battered ribcage, which felt like it was on fire, still. Scully held out an arm, pointing to a tree that wasn't very far away.

"There's the tree. Look."

Mulder felt that familiar sensation of hope rising inside of him before he heard a scream from the forest behind him.

"Noooo! My...son!"

The voice wailed again and Mulder and Scully both knew that Jane had just found her son, dead.

Mulder grabbed Scully's hand and took off toward the tree.

They were about 10 feet from it when they heard voices emerge from the now distant tree line behind them. Mulder snuck a glance behind and saw that several townspeople were sprinting toward them, guns in hand; Jane was in the lead.

They put on a burst of speed, fighting through the pain as they finally reached the tree.

They hesistated a brief moment before Mulder grabbed Scully's hand and he locked eyes with her.

"Let's get out of here."

Together, they jumped across the barrier into the world on the other side, hoping that help was waiting for them.


	10. Into the Light

As soon as Mulder and Scully crossed the invisible barrier into their own world, they were greeted by bright lights and a swarm of bodies and voices. They emerged, but came to a stop as a large group of F.B.I. agents stood as a barrier around them with guns.

A voice came from behind the men.

"Stop! Put your guns down! For Christ's sake."

Mulder had never been happier to see Skinner as he watched him pushed his way through the wall of agents.

Mulder and Scully briskly walked toward him, but Scully reached him first. She opened her mouth to talk, but Skinner beat her to it, looking at them with sharp, but concerned eyes.

"Shit, what did they do to you two? We need to get you some medical attention."

He turned to lead them to the camp, but Scully stopped him, gripping his arm.

"Sir, I don't have time to explain our current situation and I doubt you'll believe me, but at any moment, about 20 angry people with guns are going to be coming from behind that tree."

Skinner glanced to his left, where Mr. Ackers was standing awkwardly off in the distance. He looked back at Scully and Mulder.

"Don't worry, I know what's going on, but thanks for the heads up. We're more than prepared for them."

Scully shot Mulder a surprised face as Skinner shouted out orders for the men to ready themselves for the townspeople to attack. As soon as everyone was in their place, he ushered Mulder and Scully to their camp which was a safe distance away from the barrier.

He repeated his previous question. "What the hell happened to you two?" Concern was etched on his face.

Mulder shrugged, becoming increasingly aware of the pain in his shoulder and back as his adrenaline was wearing off; he was finding it harder and harder to walk. "Just a bunch of psychopaths with too much time on their hands."

Scully worriedly looked at Mulder, shooting Skinner a glance, hoping he'd get the message. "We'll tell you all the details later, sir. How much further is the camp?"

Skinner nodded slightly, but picked up his pace. "Not far. There's the lights of the camp just ahead."

They heard noises in the distance and they all turned to watch as the townspeople crossed the invisible barrier and the agents tried to subdue them. Mulder and Scully watched, almost in a trance, until Skinner's voice pulled them back to reality.

"They'll take care of it. Come on."

They continued to hear a flurry of voices echo through the air as Skinner ushered them into camp; they were nearly to the medical tent when Mulder felt his legs give out beneath him as he felt a shooting pain shoot across his back. He gasped as he reached out for Scully for support as he dropped to his knees.

"Shit, Mulder..."

Scully gripped his arm, holding him for support; Skinner on his other side.

Mulder took in deep shallow breaths, "I'm okay...my back...I just got a huge zinger."

Scully opened her mouth to reply when gunshots started ringing through the air. All three of them turned to the direction of the sound: the townspeople apparently were fighting back.

Everything was happening so fast and they watched as the agents in black started dropping one by one, they clearly hadn't anticipated this kind of fight.

Scully looked at Mulder, his face slack, covered in sweat, blood, and dirt, clearly in pain but currently overtaken by shock. She looked up at Skinner, hoping for some assurance that everything was going to be fine, that he had a plan, something.

Instead, she heard him mutter, "Oh my god."

The noise suddenly stopped and they were left in a moment of eerie silence.

She shot to her feet as she watched a single figure running toward them. She relaxed a little when she saw that it was Mr. Ackers but the crazed look on his face sent a chill through her.

He panted as he reached them, breath coming in ragged gasps. He had blood on his face and his jacket sleeve was torn. "They've...killed all of the agents...have weapons...about 12 left...coming this way..."

Skinner grabbed Mulder and pulled him to his feet, ignoring his gasp of pain.

"C'mon, this way...hurry!"

He led them further into the camp where there was a medium sized building. It was old and wooden, but looked like it had been reinforced and repaired.

They rushed through the metal doors and Mulder sank to his knees as Skinner let him go, sprinting toward a large cabinet sitting along the opposite wall.

"We found this building and built the camp around it. We've been using it for a weapons storage, so we reinforced it with steel."

He tossed Mr. Ackers and Scully rifles. "It should be enough to keep them out, as long as they don't try to starve us out."

He walked over to Mulder, pulled a gun out of his waistband, handed it to him, then walked to a barred window next to the door and peered into the night.

Mulder leaned up against the wall and looked up at Skinner.

"Sir, don't you have a phone? We could call for backup?"

Skinner looked at Scully then Mulder, disappointment on his face.

"I did, but I can't find it. I must have dropped it when we were running here."

Scully sighed as she paced the room, racking her brain for any ideas. She kept glancing at Mulder, who was now staring suspiciously at Mr. Ackers. She glanced at Mr. Ackers as well, suddenly aware of a nagging uneasiness inside her.

 _How did he make it away from the fight? And what took him so long?_

He was looking out of the other window, on the other side of the door, rifle gripped firmly in hand.

Scully gripped her rifle and sank down next to Mulder, repairing his bandages and trying to make him as comfortable as possible. He shot her a look as she fixed the bandage on his shoulder. For a moment, they stared into each other eyes, communicating without even speaking.

"What's taking them so long?" Skinner spat out. He stepped away from the window, lowering his rifle. Scully, do you mind taking over for me for a second? Nature's calling."

Scully glanced again at Mr. Ackers, who was still intently staring out his window.

She rose from her position next to Mulder and stood in front of the window looking out into the night. She heard the bathroom door shut and she glanced over at Mr. Ackers who had stepped away from the window, rifle hanging at his side. Trying not to seem suspicious, she continued to look out her window, but her grip on her rifle tightened.

"They aren't coming."

Scully paused feeling a tightening in her throat.

She stepped away from the window and turned to face Mr. Ackers. He was setting his rifle down on the ground, unbuttoning his jacket.

Scully glanced at Mulder, who was gripping his gun, ready for a fight. She looked back at Mr. Ackers, "What makes you say that?"

She could feel Mulder's gaze on her and she moved her rifle close to her side.

Mr. Ackers looked at Scully and smiled. "I just know."

Scully abruptly aimed the rifle at Mr. Ackers as she watched him pull a pistol from the inside of his jacket, now aiming it at her.

Scully's yell echoed through the cabin, "Put the gun down!"

Skinner came barreling out of the bathroom, gun raised, and Mulder had push himself to his feet, gun also pointed at Mr. Ackers.

Mr. Ackers chuckled, "You can try to shoot me, but I don't think you'll be too successful, seeing as there aren't any bullets in those guns."

Scully faltered for a moment, but held her gun steady again. She repeated, "Put the gun down. Now."

"All I want is him." He motioned to Mulder.

Silence settled over the room as the three of them tried to process their situation.

Mulder croaked. "Why?"

A smile pulled at the edge of Mr. Ackers mouth. "Because, you're my ticket to getting back in the town. You see, after my son was murdered, I went off the deep end, overcome with grief. I left the town; I didn't realize what I was doing. For years, I have tried to get back in, but Jane wouldn't let me. She said I had abandoned her when I needed her most." He let out a deep sigh. "She was right, of course. But you...you can get me back in. I told Jane that I would bring you to her, only if she would take me back. If we could be together again." He suddenly let out a maniacal burst of laughter. "I've been waiting for this moment for so long. And now it's finally here."

He took a step toward Mulder, but Skinner and Scully rushed in front of him.

Scully was seething with anger. "You aren't taking him anywhere, you son of a bitch."

"If you let me take him, I promise we'll let you both go."

Skinner sneered, "Go to hell."

Mr. Ackers fired two shots in quick succession, one at Scully and the other at Skinner. Each shot hit their target and both Scully and Skinner dropped to the ground in slow motion.

Mulder fell to his knees as he watched it unfold before his eyes. "No!"

He let out a small sigh of relief as he realized it was just a tranquilizer gun. He scuttled over to Scully checking her pulse. He could hear Mr. Ackers talking to someone over a cell phone.

"...I'm ready."

Almost instantaneously, 2 men rushed into the room and grabbed Mulder by his arms, dragging him roughly out of the door and into the cold, dark night. They dragged him away from the building and toward a bonfire at the edge of the camp. Mulder recognized Jane, standing by the fire, arms crossed, looking crazed.

 _No...not again, not again, please._

He felt his breath coming in ragged gasps as the men dropped him to his knees in front of Jane. With a jolt he realized he still had his gun. He had stuck it in his waistband underneath his shirt.

He straightened up as much as he could as he stared into Jane's cold eyes.

"You killed my last son."

Mulder swallowed, but didn't speak. The silence was deafening.

Jane screamed. "My last son!"

He didn't flinch, not even when he saw the blow coming. He swayed on his knees as her fist struck his face, but he resumed his strong composure.

Jane was breathing heavily and looked like a caged animal. He struck him two more times, and Mulder could feel new warmth on the side of his face and warm blood oozing from his nose.

"How could you? If my husband hadn't come back to me, I would have no one."

At this, Mr. Ackers stood by his wife's side, Mulder saw that he was smiling. He could feel his anger building up, sensing his moment was coming.

He took stock of his surroundings: two men were standing beside him, Jane and Mr. Ackers were in front of him, and the remaining townspeople were behind them.

The two men suddenly grabbed Mulder's arms and pulled him to his feet. Jane approached him with a knife in hand, teeth barred.

"It's time to end this."

Mulder fought against the men's grasp as Jane neared closer and closer.

Suddenly, the sweetest sound echoed through the clearing: Scully's voice.

"Drop the knife and back away!"

He heard a gun shot ring through the air and saw Jane jump back.

"Now!"

The two men released their grip on Mulder and he backed up towards Scully, struggling to remain on his feet. He pulled the gun out of his waistband as he joined her.

Scully was in full F.B.I mode now. "Everyone get on their stomachs and put your hands on your head."

She threatened them with the gun and pointed it at Mr. Ackers. "You, throw your cell phone over here."

He grimaced and reached into his pocket, throwing the phone toward Scully, except it landed a couple feet away.

She tightened her grip on her rifle as she cautiously reached down to grab the phone.

Everything happened so fast.

Mulder saw one of the men pull out a gun and aim it at Scully, but Mulder reacted too fast as he shot the man square in the chest.

It was pure chaos.

The rest of the townspeople pulled out their weapons and a full out gun fight ensued.

Mulder and Scully dropped to the ground and let their training and adrenaline take over, shooting at every figure they saw.

Then, suddenly, silence.

Dust clouded the night air and all Mulder and Scully could hear was their own deep breathing.

Scully coughed out, "Mulder, are you alright?"

Mulder croaked, "Yeah...more or less."

Scully pushed herself to her feet and Mulder slowly did the same.

The light of the campfire eerily bounced off the bodies now littering the ground. Dark blotches covered the dirt and the eerie silence made Scully's skin tingle.

She checked the pulse of each body and pulled the phone from Mr. Ackers body, after ascertaining that he was dead, tossing it to Mulder.

Mulder immediately called for back up as Scully checked the pulse of Jane. She stood to her feet with a sigh.

"They're all dead."

She felt Mulder standing next to her and she felt his hand in hers. She looked at him, amazed that he could feel so strong after all he had endured.

He was thinking the same about her.

He gripped her hand as he pulled her away from the carnage, toward the cabin in the camp.

"Backup is on it's way, but we should probably check on Skinner."

Scully nodded as she let herself be pulled away by Mulder. Thankful for his level headedness.

They slowly made their way toward the camp when a question sprang to Mulder's mind.

"How did you wake up from the tranquilizer?"

A small smile appeared on Scully's face.

"It never pierced my skin." She pulled her necklace out of her shirt. "Can you believe it? It hit my necklace. I played it out though, I figured I could load my gun after you left and then go after you."

Mulder just stared at Scully. "You're amazing, Scully."

Scully was thankful that it was still dark so Mulder couldn't see her blush.

They approached the cabin but Mulder pulled Scully to a stop.

"Scully," he turned to face her, "I have to tell you something."

Scully looked up at him expectantly.

"I...if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have made it through these past few weeks. You got me through everything, Scully, and I can't express how much you mean to me. I...I love you, Scully."

Scully felt tears spring to her eyes as she saw silent tears stream down his face.

"Oh, Mulder."

She threw his arms around his broken body and pulled him in tight, her hand stroking his hair.

"I love you too, Mulder. So much."

They stood, embraced like that for a long time. Both enjoying the moment of openness and comfort. Despite the all the pain, they both felt like a weight had been lifted from them.

Scully gave Mulder another squeeze before pulling herself away from him. She put her hand affectionately on Mulder's face.

"We better go check on Skinner. The backup should be here soon."

Mulder smiled and nodded as they entered the cabin. Skinner was just starting to stir when they entered and Mulder and Scully quickly explained what happened.

Skinner sat up and leaned against the gun cabinet. Mulder and Scully sank to the ground on the adjacent wall and leaned against it, holding hands. Skinner watched them with sadness, but didn't say anything. He couldn't even imagine what the two of them had been through. He was already dreading the inquiry at work.

30 minutes crept past before they finally heard a helicopter in the distance. They could see a light from a helicopter landing in a clearing in the distance. Mulder squeezed Scully's hand and smiled at her. She smiled back. They were finally going home.

* * *

 **Thank you guys so much for sticking with this story! It's been a lot of fun writing this and I'll be wrapping it up in the next chapter.**


	11. Into the Future

**Hey guys! Here is the final chapter. I can't believe it's finally coming to an end! This was my very first X-Files fic, and you guys have definitely made me want to write more! :)**

* * *

 _3 months later_

* * *

Scully firmly held onto the steering wheel, stealing a look at Mulder every now and again. He was mildly staring out the window, observing the passing trees and street signs.

Scully sighed.

It had been 3 months since their rescue and it had been a rocky road, more emotionally than physically in a lot of ways. Mulder was mostly healed from his injuries, but the trauma was a whole different thing. Scully longed for the day when he stopped waking up in the night, screaming from the memories that tormented him.

It had tormented her too. Seeing him suffer and now dealing with the aftermath of everything he had endured. She did her best to help him heal, but she knew time would do it best.

She could feel his gaze on her now and she felt a smile tug at her lips. At the same moment, she felt his hand drag one of hers away from the steering wheel and hold it gently. They exchanged a affectionate glance before Scully was brought back to reality.

"Mulder, are you sure you want to do this?"

Mulder stared ahead into the road. "No. Not completely. But I think I have to. I think it'll help me conquer this."

"That's entirely possible, but what if it sends you off the deep end? Maybe it's too soon. Maybe...you're not strong enough."

She glanced nervously at him, unsure if she had said the right thing.

"No, I have you." He looked at her affectionately. "You're all I need to get through this."

Scully sighed but couldn't help but smile. Such the romantic.

They continued driving until they came upon a very familiar gas station, which had long been abandoned. Scully drove past it; that wasn't their destination.

"Hey!" Mulder said in mock protest. "Don't you wanna stop and get some snacks for the road."

Scully gave Mulder one of her disapproving looks and was met by his lopsided smile.

They drove on and Scully could feel butterflies in her stomach now. They were getting close.

Then she saw it, that familiar tree that held so many memories. That served as a starting point for everything they had been through together. She couldn't help but gasp when she looked beyond the tree and saw the town as clear as day off in the distance.

After all of the townspeople had died, whatever curse or spell that was on the town had been lifted and it had been restored to natural order. The F.B.I. had promptly searched the town for remaining people and had found all of the children hiding in a basement in one of the house. The children had been taken by child protection services and would be placed in foster homes. Meanwhile, the town now sat desolate and empty. A vacant shell of what it once was; the evil that had resided there and had taken place was now gone.

Scully drove the car past the tree, down through the grassy meadow, the all to familiar forest to their right, and parked the car by the burned out bonfire in the center of the town.

She turned the ignition off and looked at Mulder, he looked calm, but Scully knew he was trying to gather the strength to face what was before him.

Softly, she asked, "Are you ready?"

He nodded and released his grip on her hand, stepping out of the car and into the warm, sunny air. A breeze lightly picked up his hair and he felt the air flow between his fingers. It felt so natural and normal, it was almost hard to believe that 3 months ago this was where he thought he would eventually die.

He could feel Scully's presence nearby, but could tell she was giving him space. He appreciated it. Scully always seemed to be able to read him.

Slowly, he walked around the bonfire, looking at the houses, until he reached the cage he had been kept in. He could still see his own dried blood on the dirt, it was a bitter reminder, but he knew the worst was still to come.

Tearing his eyes away from the cage, he saw the barn. He froze. This was the part he had been the most fearful to face.

As if on queue, he felt Scully's soft hand in his. He looked down at her face and felt a warmth spread inside him. Squeezing her hand he walked forward, using his one free hand to open the barn doors. Sunlight raced into the barn and shed it's light on the contents inside. Mulder felt his throat tighten as the memories of the torture he had endured in this barn flooded his mind. Again, he was struck frozen as he looked at the ropes hanging from the rafters. The dirty, and blood stained wood floor beneath him. The whip on the floor, covered in his own blood. For a moment, in almost became too much. But then Mulder remembered other memories. Memories of he and Scully in her room. Scully's gentle touch as she worked to fix his broken body. Of them together in her bed, watching the moonlight caress her face as she slept. Beautiful moments that had come from the most horrible moments of his life. All at once, he felt his heart lighten and the heaviness that had been suffocating him seemed to lift away. Everything was going to be fine.

"C'mon," Mulder smiled at Scully as he pulled her away from the barn. "Let's get out of here."

"Mulder..." Scully started, not bothering to hide her concern. "Are you okay?"

Mulder smiled again. "No. But I will be." He turned to face her and grabbed her other hand. "What I went through, what we went through, was horrible, but it's over now. I just want to leave all this behind and just focus on us. Just focus on the good that has come of this."

Scully smiled at Mulder as he pulled her away from the town and towards the car.

"So, what now?"

They both got into the car and Scully turned the ignition.

"There's still one more thing I need to see."

Scully raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I wanna see what you carved on that tree."

Mulder laughed when he saw Scully blush.

"Oh, I mean...it's really nothing..."

"No, no," Mulder interrupted, "that's the final step in this whole 'facing my fears' adventure."

Scully sighed in resignation as he she drove the car up to the tree. She watched Mulder get out before she decided to join him.

Mulder walked up to the tree and observed it for a split second before a huge grin spread across his face. He was satisfied to see Scully blushing again.

On the tree, was carved a large arrow pointing upwards. Beneath the arrow was a giant heart with S + M, carved in the middle.

Mulder stared at Scully, still grinning stupidly.

"What?" Scully spat out, now impatient. "It was the best thing I could think of!"

Mulder laughed pulling Scully into a bear hug.

"It's perfect." He pulled her away, gazing into her eyes. "Just what I had expected."

Scully responded by pulling his mouth closer to hers, suddenly overcome by a fierce desire. Mulder obliged and closed his eyes as their lips locked. They both felt weightless. As if sharing this kiss by the tree that held so much symbolism for what they'd been through, canceled out all of the terrible things that'd happened. Those memories would always be there, but now they were written over. Those memories would be drowned out by the love that they now shared together. They finally felt whole again. They finally felt free.


End file.
